HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Kelsey Harris Douglass

Nacogdoches, Nacogdoches County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Member of the Second Congress of the Republic Commander of the Texas forces in the decisive battle with the Cherokee Indians, July 16, 1839 Charter member of Grand Masonic Lodge of Texas Died Oct. 4, 1840 His daughter ANNE ELIZABETH DOUGLASS Died in July, 1840 Erected by the State of Texas 1936

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

A member of the Second Congress of the Republic of Texas, Kelsey Harris Douglass commanded the Texas forces in the decisive July 1839 battle that drove the Cherokee and their allies from East Texas. A charter member of the Grand Masonic Lodge of Texas, he died in 1840, the same year as his young daughter Anne Elizabeth. His marker was raised by the state in 1936.

Why it matters

Douglass's role in the Cherokee War marks the violent removal of Native peoples that opened East Texas to Anglo-American settlement, a chapter repeated across the frontier.

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Related people

  • · Kelsey Harris Douglass
  • · Anne Elizabeth Douglass

Related events

  • · Cherokee War of 1839

Themes & tags

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